By Carol Coller
Rosellina (Rosy) Avoscan, painter, sculptor and ceramicist, has led a life in movement. Born near Belluno, she was placed in an orphanage in Como as a young child, where one of her tasks was to illustrate Bible stories, an activity she found she enjoyed and at the age of 8 or 9 she found a surprise gift of a full set of colored pencils in her school desk, which was a source of great happiness and encouraged her to continue her art.
Her young adulthood was spent with a period of homelessness and traveling around Europe to make a living. She made her way to London in 1978 where she remained for 27 years. There, she became a mother and attended Chelsea Art College and graduated with a BA in Fine Arts with honors. After meeting her ex-husband, painter and professor Frank Hobbs, she lived for several years in Ohio in the United States, coming to Cortona, a town she had frequented since 2004, in the summers. She now lives permanently in Cortona.
Rosy’s art is particularly attuned to the twin themes of social justice and the plight of refugees fleeing from war-torn countries to find a new life. Her goal is to communicate, educate and change perceptions through her art, and her works demonstrate this compassion and empathy. Her mixed media work “Honorum” expresses just this, and is a personal way of honoring the lives of the many refugee children who have drowned in the Mediterranean Sea.
Contact: rosy_avoscan@hotmail.it
